Field of Technology
The present disclosure relates to arthroscopic resection devices in general and, specifically, to an arthroscopic resection device having an adjustable outer member.
Related Art
Arthroscopic resection devices spin about their axes at high rates. So that tissue surrounding a surgical area does not become inadvertently resected, some of these devices have an outer member that partially covers the working end. The drawback to this is that the outer member can occasionally get in the way of a surgeon's line of site potentially changing the surgeon's perception of how much tissue is being removed. Currently, the options for dealing with this include the use of a shorter length outer member, the use of several devices during the surgical procedure, or the use of a device that can be used with interchangeable outer members of different lengths. The drawbacks to this are limited resection capability due to the concern of inadvertently resecting surrounding tissue, increased costs due to having to open multiple resection devices per case, and the potential for damaging the cutting surface of the working end when replacing the outer members.
Therefore, a resection device that allows for a change in the location of the outer member relative to the inner member in an easier, less costly manner during surgery is needed.